Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals… Don’t Count On It

My love for Jamie Oliver took an unusual U-turn when I optimistically purchased his 30-minute meals. I thought my new life had arrived in the post; a life where dinner could be ready by 8pm instead of 9.30pm…

Sadly having cooked (and been invited round for) a number of the so called 30 minute inventions, I can now confirm that unless you have practised each recipe at least 5 times and spent 20 minutes preparing the kitchen and reading the recipe 3 times before you start, you don’t stand a chance.

On the brighter side however, there are some fantastic recipes and if you can spare the time, they are worth the wait. The spinach and feta Filo parcel and the broccoli orecchiette are gob-stoppers for me!

Quick tips
Jamie has quite blatantly gone for an overload of ‘blender plugging’ in this book, partly due to his friend from the blender/liquidiser industry having died and partly due to his new Tefal food processing range. If like me you are still saving up for all the kit you need, improvise:

Get a cheapy Braun handheld blitzer until you can afford the real thing

Grate anything really tough like raw carrot and broccoli stalk before you blitz to make life easier

No garlic crusher? Grate it (unless you chop like a ninja, in which case, use the skills)

Use a fork to mash your spuds – boil them for an extra couple of minutes to make them softer, or just tell people they’re rustic!